Seattlest: Museum Of Flight Wants Retired Space Shuttle

grid

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:25:27 -0800

er, Orbiter.

grid

Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:25:08 -0800

but then, maybe if the Smithsonian gets one MoF would get Enterprise, the full sized aerodynamic testing model that they launched into the air off a specialized 747. in some ways that's actually more appropriate than an actual shuttle.

grid

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 09:25:33 -0800

As COMTE points out, two of the three are essentially spoken for. I think that JSC in Houston has to be a favourite for the third, and if all things are equal regarding the financial commitments, I'd guess the third goes to JSC over MOF.

COMTE

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:54:48 -0800

Of the three shuttles in active service, it looks like one has already been tapped to go to Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in D.C. (which is a bummer, since they already have Enterprise at their satellite facility in Virginia), and I'd be willing to bet one of the other two will end up at KSC in FL, leaving just one to go out to whichever museum can pony up in excess of $40 mm. Boeing Air & Space does have a good shot at it, IMO, what with, as you say "The Big B" being bother a major construction as well as operations contractor for STS, and with the added advantage of being adjacent to a runway capable of handling the modified 747 required to transport it, which is a prerequisite for acquisition. Plus, I'm guessing Paul Allen, being the space geek he is, simply won't be able to resist the temptation to add one of these to his "collection", and even in today's economy $40 mm is still pocket-change to him.